Well-worn comforts

Cada, the resident black lab, awaits Santa’s arrival in the original tack room. A studded leather box from days of stagecoach travel now holds presents.

The 74-year-old Lake Forest home was originally a polo clubhouse and stable on the property where Henry Ford Jr. and the Kennedy family occasionally practiced polo during the sport's heyday in the 1930s. Timeworn cedar planks still cover the walls and ceilings of the tack room as well as what were once horse stalls and a warming room. The stable was converted into a residence in the 1970s.

Christmas character

Emily and retriever, Halle, make sure vintage fabric stockings are hung with care. The brick floor is original to what was the barn, but the wood beams were added to match.

Preserving and celebrating the house's rich equestrian history drives all the design choices that Alison, an interior designer and antiques dealer, has made since moving in with her family 11 years ago. Alison grew up on her grandfather's Pennsylvania horse farm, and it was natural to dress the home in a classic style reminiscent of an old-fashioned gentleman's club.

Farmhouse-inspired

New England farmhouses inspired the design of the kitchen that occupies what was once four horse stalls. Its centerpiece is a 10-foot-long reproduction of an antique island. The skirts on the counter stools hide chew marks made by Cada when she was a pup.

Holiday crafting

A built-in hutch showcases a snow-globelike decoration Alison made out of an old iron tree stand and a glass bowl (bottom shelf). Alison also used watercolor paper and mica flakes to make a replica model of the home (top shelf) to add to her vintage cardboard Christmas village.